El Niño Southren Oscillation (ENSO) and Landscape Ecology
When studying the El Niño Southern
Oscillation (ENSO), one might be led to think that the southern Pacific
Ocean is like a sloshing bathtub, with the water see-sawing back and
forth from east to west and west to east. While this may be an
oversimplication, it generally expresses the main idea. The
difference between ENSO and a bathtub is
that the wave moving back and forth occurs on a global scale with
global implications for climate and the distribution and abundance
of organisms.
Recent studies indicate that ENSO events effect the climate and
biota in many regions of the world. The links between ENSO events and
ecology
has been documented by scientists in several different fields. Recent
advances in predicting ENSO has several planning applications.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of ENSO and
its impact on landscape ecology. Click on any of the following
topics to learn more:
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Author:
Rich Schrader, Community and Regional Planning Graduate Student, School of
Architecture and Planning. Work done in Biology Department, University of New Mexico
e-mail address:
res13131@la.unm.edu